Here’s a phone we’ve looked forward to reviewing. The Mate 7 was our phone of 2014 and the Mate 8 was in our Top 5 best phones of 2016. We’ve reviewed many middling phones of late so we’ve been hoping that Huawei’s new flagship would impress us. It didn’t get off to a great start. We’ve associated the Mate range with outstanding value but the Mate 9’s price has inflated to into premium territory to match the market rather than undercut it. So did it bring anything new to the table to justify the inflated price? Yes it did.
Just over three months ago we slammed Sony’s latest flagship phone, the Xperia X Performance, for being one of the most disappointing products that Sony had made in years. It was such a mediocre effort (at a premium price) that even Sony’s own previous range outclassed it. No here’s the phone that should have launched then, the Sony Xperia XZ. How does it fare?
It’s called the X Power because it has a 4,100mAh battery which is the biggest on the market. The next largest is the 4,000mAh unit in the excellent Huawei Mate 8. Even the iPhone 7 Plus hits just 2,900mAh. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is 3,600mAh.
iOS 10, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system, brings a variety of upgrades to Siri, 3D Touch, the Lock Screen, Maps and other features.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to stay safe online, with the proliferation of threats and the new and complex ways that cybercriminals can target people.
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.